The Result of Veela Insecurity
by Dranny
Summary: All Harry wanted to do was get some sleep.


**Disclaimer: They all belong to JK Rowling. She didn't do what I wanted with them so I borrowed them to play with for a while. I'll give them back eventually.**

**Summary: All Harry wanted to do was get some sleep. Doesn't look like it's gonna happen anytime soon**

Harry Potter woke with a start. Grabbing his wand he looked around disjointedly for the source of the banging. Realizing belatedly that there was someone at the door, he looked at his muggle alarm clock. It was 2:30 am. No self respecting wizard or witch should be up and disturbing other people at such a time. Hoping it wasn't Ron, drunk once again after a night of clubbing, he headed for the door.

Pulling it roughly open, ready to give whoever it was a scathing set down, he was surprised to see his best friend Hermione sobbing against the wall of his apartment. Alarmed, he ushered her inside towards the couch.

"Mione? What's wrong? Why are you crying? Did something happen to Fleur?" he asked in rapid succession. The sound of her girlfriends name seemed to send the brunette into another fit of crying. Confused, Harry could only sit and wait for her to finish and tell him what was wrong.

After what seemed like hours, and a hot cup of tea later, Hermione had finally calmed down a bit. Harry sat next to her, patiently waiting for her to tell him what made her come all the way to his apartment in England, from France, at 2:30 in the morning. He sincerely hoped that nothing had happened to Fleur.

"Fleur hates me" he suddenly heard his friend say. Looking at her in shock, Harry wondered just where that had come from.

'Hate you? Mione what are you on about? Fleur adores you more than anything. It's actually almost scary how much she does." Harry consoled his friend. Honestly the notion was preposterous.

"She told me so tonight. Oh Harry we had such an awful fight." Finished Hermione, who looked like she was about to break out into a fresh bout of tears. Hoping to forestall what looked inevitable, Harry cut her off.

"Why don't you tell me what happened. Start from the beginning." He urged his distraught friend.

"Well it started when her cousin Cecile came over. It was the first time I'd met her because they hadn't seen each other in years. I wanted so badly to impress her because Fleur had mentioned how close they were growing up. But I could tell she hated me from the moment she came. She kept looking at me like I was some disgusting specimen under a microscope. I did everything I thought a good girlfriend should do. I even cooked for them. Then afterwards, Fleur said that they were going for a walk, but I decided not to go, you know, to give them time alone to catch up. Next thing I know, Fleur comes home and she's so distant and cold…" Hermione paused here. Harry could see the memory was still fresh enough to hurt, so he waited.

"I asked her what was wrong, why she was acting like that. Then she started asking me questions like why I was with her, and how long I would keep pretending. I was so confused because I had no idea what she was on about. Next thing I know we're yelling at each other because I told her that her cousin was nothing but a conniving bitch. I know that was harsh but I just knew she had something to do with why Fleur was acting like that. Then she said it Harry. She said she hated that she had no choice in her mate. Oh Harry I couldn't stay there after that. I had to leave and this was the only place I could think of." Hermione finished, sobbing once again.

Harry was shocked. He had no idea Fleur could ever be that cruel to Hermione. He knew that Veelas were temperamental creatures at best, but from what little he had researched, they tended to generally dote on their mates, which he had seen first hand in Fleur's treatment of Hermione. So for her to go from adoring mate, to heartless, left the young man baffled.

"So what are you going to do?" he asked his best friend. Harry, for his part knew he would back his friend. He liked Fleur a lot, especially after seeing how much she loved his friend, but if it came down to it, he would always choose Hermione. No contest.

"I don't know Harry. I can't even think about that right now. I love her so much, but she was so angry. I don't think she loves me anymore, if she ever did at all." said the brunette sadly.

"Well if you need a place to stay you know you're welcome here anytime. Come on, the spare room is always ready for you or Ron. In the morning we can sort this out." he said getting up. Tugging the young woman after him, he made sure she was comfortable and warm in bed before leaving to go back to his own.

He stayed up for a bit after that. Thinking about his friend and how she was hurting. After the war, it had taken them a while to settle back to some kind of normalcy. Hermione had been the more focused of the three. Going back to school, and finishing her NEWTS. He and Ron were a bit lazier though. For his part, he was still in between jobs, trying to figure out his calling, whereas Ron, well he was living up his 'celebrity' status, constantly partying and generally just having 'fun'.

They were all rather surprised when the brunette had come back from her internship in France, with the beautiful blonde veela in tow. They had explained how they had met again at the French Ministry and fallen in love, which was a shock considering they had almost hated each other before and during the war. It was only after everyone had settled down and had a chance to grasp their new relationship that they had explained about the Veelas and their mating rituals. Satisfied that their friend was in a permanent loving bond, he and Ron had welcomed Fleur with open arms. Now his heartbroken friend was in the next room, and Harry briefly wondered if he had researched enough about Veelas and their so called everlasting love.

Just as he was about to finally doze off, he was startled awake to yet another banging on his door. Thinking it was a drunk Ron this time, and not wanting him to disturb Hermione's well needed rest, he rushed to the door and hurriedly flung it open, ready to stop the red head from making anymore noise. What he got was an arm full of blonde Veela.

"Oh 'Arry it is terrible. I've lost my 'Ermione" she sobbed, clinging to the shocked young man. Being the gentleman that he was, Harry didn't have the heart to push her away, knowing what she'd done. Instead he led her over to the couch and sat her down. Fixing another pot of tea, he waited for Fleur to calm down. When she had, he asked her to explain herself.

"Well we had an awful argument. I said some 'urtful things and next I know, she's just gone. I searched the whole of France but I could not find her. I lost her 'Arry." sobbed the blonde.

"What exactly did you say to her?" asked a newly upset Harry, remembering what Hermione had told him.

"I told her I wish I had a choice in mate" answered Fleur, after a brief hesitation.

"Why would you say that? You know how much she loves you. Didn't you think before you went and said something like that?" he said angrily, pacing back and forth.

"But that is just it. I am not sure she loves me at all. I am just another 'ouse elf to her" the blonde replied, just as angry. Confused, and about to ask what she was on about, they both heard a gasp, and looked over to see a slightly angry Hermione.

"What is that supposed to mean Fleur Delacour? Explain yourself." said Hermione, coming to stand in front of her surprised lover.

Looking away from Fleurs' accusing glare, Harry stepped back from the couple, and allowed them some privacy. He did not want to get caught in the middle of what looked to be a building argument.

"It means just that. You are always on your crusade of equality and better treatment of magical creatures, and that is what I am. You do not love me. You just felt sorry for me. Destined to love someone, who has the choice of whether to return that love. Such is the life of a Veela. Your sense of justice would never allow you to reject a creature that came to you for 'elp. In my case I needed your love and you felt obligated to give it to me. To save me from a miserable existence of lonliness without you." Fleur declared a bit melodramatically Harry thought. But she was a veela. Melodramatic was their thing.

Harry didn't know who was more surprised by the slap. He wasn't even sure Hermione knew she had slapped her lover. The look of pure fury on her face was a testament to her frame of mind at the moment. He backed up a bit more, just in case.

"How dare you! How dare you say that to me after everything we've been through? You honestly believe I felt obligated to love you? Do you really think that I would go that far out of some misplaced sense of obligation?" the furious brunette asked.

" Well what else am I supposed to think? You 'ated me since the Tri-Wizard tournament. During the war, when we came from France to 'elp the order, you did not want me around. You never had a nice word to say to me all the times we worked together. Then, you come to France and suddenly everything changes when you learned of my predicament. How you must have felt when I confessed my feelings. Poor little Veela can't survive without your love. I was too happy when you returned my affection to see it then, but now I do. I do not need your pity. I would rather die than accept your pity." hissed the Angry Veela.

Harry braced himself. Certainly that deserved another slap. Even he knew that Hermione Granger never did anything she did not want to do. Definitely not something as serious as loving someone. Giving everything to them. Her power, her brain, her time, yes those she would willingly and selflessly give. But her love? That was special and had to be earned. Certainly Fleur had to know this, being her lover for over two years. To both their surprise, Hermione laughed.

"You are so stupid Fleur. Is that what she told you? Your precious cousin? That you're nothing but a project to me? Do you think so lowly of me that you would so easily believe that I would do that?" asked the slightly hysterical witch.

The Veela looked away from her lover uncomfortably. Harry almost felt sorry for her but she needed this. Now that Hermione had voiced what they were all thinking, it was time to address the issue.

"I do not think lowly of you, I have nothing but the highest regard for you 'ermione, you know that" answered the other woman.

"You're not acting like it. I went through seven years of hell Fleur. From the moment I stepped into this world I had to fight for my life, literally. When I wasn't defending my blood I was trying to stay alive. I've fought so many creatures I can't even begin to count or describe, including dementors. I've fought deatheaters and briefly traded spells with Voldemort himself. All I wanted when this whole war was over was to live a nice quiet life. To get a job and maybe one day have a family. I had a plan and was determined to stay on course. Then you happened." The brunette stopped there.

Harry looked at both witches. Hermione was trying to compose herself. Fleur was staring at her with a look Harry could not describe. Maybe no one could describe. That Veela, no, that woman, had always been a bit of an enigma. He had always thought that was what attracted Hermione. His friend did love puzzles. Realizing Hermione had started talking again, he listened.

"You came up to me that day, do you remember? You asked me why I was so fascinated with the laws surrounding House elves?" at Fleurs nod she continued. "When I explained S.P.E.W to you, you told me I was weird. I remember thinking you were probably too dumb to understand anyway and I just wanted you to leave. Then you told me that instead of focusing on creatures that liked what they did I should focus on those that were really being oppressed. If I wanted to keep making a difference then I should find a real cause. But I didn't want to do that. That would mess up my carefully laid plans. That would put me back in the forefront of wizarding laws and politics. Not the quiet life I envisioned. I fought against you. I wanted to ignore you but you wouldn't go away." She paused to catch her breath. To reflect. Neither of the other two occupants dared to interrupt.

"Every time you came back from wherever it is you went, you sought me out. You would tell me of some of the creatures you had seen where you'd been. You'd tell me of dragons, who were being hunted for sport, you'd tell me of vampires, who were being locked away for the betterment of wizardkind, but had done nothing wrong. You'd talk about giants who were shunned from society just for their size alone. You told me that not all giants were evil. You even used Hagrid as reference, but I knew you really were thinking of Madame Maxime. I remember thinking how wrong I was about you. You weren't some shallow French girl with more looks than sense. You were so strong in the war, so amazing. You were the one who encouraged me to pursue this campaign Fleur. I made up my mind from the moment you told me I was wasting my time on a lost cause. Just to prove you wrong about me, I was determined to see this through. I put my everything into it because I needed you to acknowledge how much I was doing. That's why I stayed in France. I needed to prove myself to you, hoping that you would change your mind about me, like I did with you." She stopped.

Harry didn't even realize he was holding his breath. Whatever she said now, it was going to make a difference. He saw that Fleur realized it as well. She was staring so intently at her lover.

"I've loved you for so long. Maybe even before I realized what I was feeling. All those times you were gone for weeks with Bill, curse breaking in Merlin only knew where, I was so worried you would fall for him before I had a chance to tell you how I felt. Then you would come back, and bring me these trinkets and stories about where you were. I lived for those times. When you finally confessed to me that night you walked me home, I was never more happy or alive as I was in that moment. Everything I had fought for, all that I had been through was in preparation for that moment." she finished softly.

Harry couldn't move. He didn't dare break the serenity of that confession, because from the look on Fleurs face it was indeed a confession. So focused he was on both witches, both with tears on their faces, he barely noticed his. No matter what Hermione had said, there was no way Fleur hated her. She couldn't. It wasn't possible. They belonged to each other.

" 'Ermione….I do not know what to say" Fleur said softly, staring into her lover's eyes. Seeing the truth for what it was.

"If anyone should have insecurities about this relationship it should be me. You have to love me, I was meant for you. I'm in your blood. But you said I do not have to love you, and yet I do. So honestly and completely that it scares me. I stay up at night sometimes, just staring at you, wondering if you had a choice, would you still choose me? And to hear you confirm tonight that you wouldn't, that you wished you did have a choice, it hurt me Fleur. So badly that I wanted to die." Hermione sobbed.

"No that is not what I meant! Listen to me 'Ermione" Fleur pleaded, grabbing her lover's hands. "When Cecile implied that you were with me out of pity, I felt so hurt. Somewhere in my mind I always thought that maybe I was being unfair to you. You deserved better. Not someone who had forced you into a bond. So when she said that, I was more willing to believe that you were with me out of pity rather than love. Then I came home and it hurt to even look at you. When you confronted me, I thought that I could use that opportunity, to give you a chance to be free of me. But you left so suddenly, and it was so cold outside, I got worried. When I couldn't find you, I panicked and came to 'Arry, hoping he could help me find you. I just needed to know you were safe." Fleur said desperately.

Harry was honestly beginning to feel like a voyeur. The outpouring of emotions from both witches was enough to cripple anyone.

"Ma Cherie, when I said I wish I had a choice, I simply meant that if I did have a choice, then I would not feel so insecure in my love for you, knowing that we were together because we wanted to be not because of some ancient preordained magic. If I had a choice, I would choose you again, there is no doubt in my mind. With or without the Veela bond, I belong to you 'Ermione Granger. There is no doubt in my mind when it comes to that" the blonde witch finished softly.

Harry knew people thought him a bit dense. He would even admit that he was. But certain things were obvious even to him. That's why he had no doubt that the tears both women were shedding now were tears of joy.

"Oh Fleur, I love you so much." Hermione said, throwing herself into her lover's arms.

"I love you too 'Ermione. Never doubt that" Fleur answered, returning her fierce embrace.

Harry was content to give them this moment. It was a beautiful moment between two people obviously destined for one another. He blushed slightly when they started to kiss. As long as they were happy then so was he. He became quite alarmed when hands started to wander and clothes were beginning to look suspiciously loose. Clearing his throat, he quickly interrupted them.

"This was all very lovely but it's getting late, you two can stay in the guest room until morning…well later in the morning anyway." He said, glancing at the clock, seeing it was already 4 am.

Both witches glanced at him, surprised that he was there. He didn't know whether to be amused or insulted. They had sought him out after all. Shaking his head, he watched his best friend literally drag her lover to the bedroom, slamming the door in the process. Smirking, he entered his own room, hoping at least for a bit of sleep. Before he could doze off, he was interrupted once again, this time to moans coming from the other room.

"We're wizards damnit, there's such a thing as a silencing spell!" he yelled, quickly casting one over his room. Honestly those two would drive him crazy before the sun came up.

The End

**I'm so hungry right now. This was the result of hunger. One of my whims. I hope it was decent. I'm too hungry to see the faults right now. Please feel free to point them out. In order to do that you'll have to review. It would be appreciated thanks. Now I'm gonna go get food. **


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